[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# Secular change in orogenic duration reveals alternating tectonic regimes during the Archaean-Proterozoic

Zou et al., 2026, Nature Communications — Geology

Patterns: [Distinctions](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/distinctions), [Systems](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/systems)

## In short

Earth's tectonic system, viewed across billion-year timescales, shows a whole-history pattern (alternating regimes) that only emerges from comparing the durations of its individual orogenic parts.

## What they found (results)

Garnet Lu-Hf and monazite U-Pb geochronology across Archaean-Proterozoic orogens shows non-monotonic orogen duration, with a ~220-Myr hot collisional orogen during Columbia assembly far exceeding contemporary cold orogens (110-160 Myr), indicating the crust alternated between 'sluggish lid' and more mobile plate-tectonic regimes.

## Abstract

Geological constraints and modelling results reveal major yet poorly understood changes in Earth’s tectonic regimes during the late Archaean and Proterozoic. These changes are associated with supercontinent cycles, a primary archive of lithosphere and convecting mantle behaviour, and impact orogen duration and thermal state. However, the lack of precise data on orogen duration during Columbia assembly limits our understanding of the long-term tectonic evolution and comparison with younger orogens. Through in-situ garnet Lu–Hf and monazite microdomain U–Pb geochronology, here we constrain a 220 Myr hot collisional orogen during Columbia assembly, significantly longer than contemporary cold orogens (110–160 Myr). Secular changes in collisional orogen duration indicate a non-monotonic trend from Neoarchaean to Neoproterozoic. This trend implies enhanced plate rigidity and mobility during Columbia assembly, followed by a marked decline during Rodinia assembly, consistent with inferred plate velocity proxies. These findings support evolving tectonic regimes alternating between sluggish lid and more active plate tectonics during the Neoarchaean-Proterozoic.

These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.

[Source](https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-76530-3)